My name is Phil Brock. I am a candidate for Santa Monica City Council. I am beyond distressed at the simple lack of listening, absorbing and responding to the current citizens of Santa Monica by the majority on the dais. I can't promise I will be everything that each citizen wants but I will promise that I will listen. The citizens of Santa Monica who have invested so much of their lives in their neighborhoods must be respected. Our citizens have wisdom, they know why they moved to this place and what they want the future of Santa Monica to be. I do not believe that high rises, massive developments, streets that become canyons of buildings, or roads that can't be navigated by our families are what my grandparents moved to Santa Monica for in the 1920's.

All of us live in this magical city because of the simplicity of fresh air, palm trees, the fog, the sun, the ocean, the nearby mountains and our city's big, inclusive heart. I fear that heart is being lost. Big business wants to take the heart out of our city, to replace it with tall, dense buildings and twenty four hour a day traffic jams.

That is not why I stayed in the city I was born in, that's not why my mother is still here...it's the openness of Santa Monica that we like, it's that magical combination of great schools, superb green spaces, the ocean, the cool breezes and the notion that a city could be more humane, more livable and more unique that kept us here.

Santa Monica is a treasure...let's keep it that way. I hope I will have your support.